May 4, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

Don't I get any credit for following your local politics/plight even though I moved away from Brooklyn almost two years ago? Guess not. Perhaps I should get my facts straight before I share what's on my mind. The truth of the matter is, I still don't know what the neighborhood is called where the FUTURE ATLANTIC YARDS will take up space. I know it's somewhere between downtown Brooklyn and Fort Green and perhaps it has its own name, probably depends on who you talk to. I'm sure noLandGrab knows.

NoLandGrab: Most of "Atlantic Yards" is in PROSPECT HEIGHTS, however the section Ratner calls "Site V" is in PARK SLOPE. Looks like you had a great time during your last visit. Come back soon  the next round of Blue Point is on us.

Is it just me or does Ratner look like the 'fat kid' who always got picked last, finally getting to be on the 'team'? Imagine, if the Ratners have spent a few hundred (okay thousand) dollars on therapy we wouldn't have pay billions. (hey bruce, I got cut from the freshman baseball team, but went on to play varsity football --you don't have to steal).

NoLandGrab: If it's really important to anyone but Knickerblogger, Bruce Ratner cut a pretty lean figure as a young man.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, MARKOWITZ ON A RAMPAGE: SAYS THE DAILY GOTHAMOTBKB posted Daily Gotham's outing of the oddly vindictive Brooklyn Borough President and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader-in-Chief Marty Markowitz. If Marty keeps trying to take down Atlantic Yards critics, we might be left with the Park Slope 99 (gasp!).

I am posting this because I too used to find Markowitz to be very likale --if a little zany and self-promoting but it all seemed to be in the name of what was good for Brooklyn. I even included him on the Park Slope 100 because, well, he was Marty. But it seems that something has changed and the volatility of the Atlantic Yards issue has exposed a different side of his personality.

A blogger who covers a lot of politics for Daily Gotham caught wind of Bruce Ratner's Boondoggle buried in Bloomberg's big budget:

Mike Bloomberg is at it again.

His proposed budget contains a $205 million gift to mega-developer Bruce Ratner. Some details can be found in a March 9th Daily News article.

Basically, $105 million will go toward "infrastructure needs" -- at least, in theory. The other $100 million will officially be spent on "land acquisition costs," meaning we're paying to buy the land and then just giving it away to Ratner to build his stadium.

Word is starting to get out, and City Council members are reacting with scorn -- but nobody is saying they'll block this crooked waste of money. It comes down to about $25 for every person in NYC -- that's your money!